Syria violence claims 24 dead in run-up to ceasefire

April 7, 2012

run_up

Beirut, April 7: At least 24 Syrians were killed in violence on Friday, opposition activists said, only four days before a troop pullback agreed by President Bashar al-Assad as part of a peace plan proposed by mediator Kofi Annan.


The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said shelling had killed at least 10 people, including four rebel fighters, in the flashpoint central city of Homs. Two soldiers killed in separate clashes and one person was killed in the town of Douma, it said.


The British-based Observatory, using its network of contacts in Syria, also reported seven civilians and four soldiers killed in clashes and bombardments in Anadan, north of Aleppo.


The fresh violence erupted a day after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the conflict was worsening and attacks on civilian areas persisted, despite assurances from Damascus that its troops had begun withdrawing under the peace plan.


Annan, who is mediating for the United Nations and the Arab League, has said both the government and opposition must stop fighting at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) on April 12, if Damascus meets its deadline 48 hours earlier to pull back troops from cities and cease using heavy weapons in populated areas.


Assad’s opponents have accused the Syrian military of using the run-up to the ceasefire to intensify assaults. Syria has now charged insurgents with doing the same.


“In recent days terrorist acts committed by armed groups in Syria have escalated, especially since an understanding was reached on Kofi Annan’s plan,” it said in a letter to the United Nations released on Friday.


“The international community and the Security Council must take the necessary measures to prevent and stop the funding of any terrorist activities against Syria,” it said.


In the latest violence, activists reported tank fire in at least three urban centres on Friday - the town of Douma near Damascus, the restive city of Homs and Rastan, north of Homs.


“At least 5 tanks and 10 buses loaded with security men and Shabiha (pro-Assad militia) entered Douma,” one local activist said. “There has been shelling on Douma since the morning.”

In Rastan, an activist said Free Syrian Army rebels had confronted a morning tank thrust. “They blocked the advance and the Assad army left. Then artillery started,” he said.


Accounts of the violence are difficult to verify because Syria’s government restricts access to independent journalists.


REFUGEE EXODUS

Assad blames the conflict on foreign-backed “terrorists” and has proposed a parliamentary election on May 7 among other reforms. His opponents dismiss these as a sham, saying it is impossible to have a valid vote while bloodshed continues.


Anti-Assad demonstrations broke out after Friday prayers in the eastern province of Hasakeh, in the town of Qamishli and Deir al-Zor city, activists said. Protesters carried the white and green rebel flag. Some saluted other rebel cities.


Army shelling of villages in the northwestern province of Idlib has prompted a swelling exodus of refugees. Turkey said there were now 23,835 Syrian refugees on its territory.


Over 2,800 arrived on Thursday alone, a Turkish official said, more than double the highest previous one-day total.


They crossed near the Turkish village of Bukulmez and more were waiting to do so, the official said. Forty-four minibuses ferried the arrivals to a refugee camp at Reyhanli.


“The army is destroying buildings and bombing them till they turn to charcoal,” said Mohammed Khatib, a refugee who said he came from Kastanaz, a Syrian town of 20,000 people.


“The army wants people to move out of their houses. If the residents refuse, they destroy them with the people inside.”


Thousands of Syrians have also fled to Lebanon and Jordan. Host countries say they have taken in more than 50,000 since the revolt against 42 years of Assad family rule began a year ago.


Loyalist forces have killed more than 9,000 people during the unrest, according to a U.N. tally. Syria says 6,044 have died, including 2,566 soldiers and police.


Western powers are not convinced Assad will honour the promised truce and believe he may seek loopholes giving him more time to cripple the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and deter protesters.


It is also uncertain whether the FSA has enough control over its fighters to enforce Annan’s ceasefire deadline.


Syria’s U.N. ambassador Bashar Ja’afari said the plan did not require any pullback of police - who have played a big role in the conflict as suggested by the state’s own casualty toll.


Last year the opposition said troops had disguised themselves as police and repainted army vehicles in police colours before the arrival in December of Arab observers sent to monitor what proved an abortive Arab League peace plan.


A Norwegian general attached to U.N. peacekeeping arrived in Damascus on Thursday to examine prospects for an eventual U.N. ceasefire monitoring mission of up to 250 unarmed observers, something which would require a Security Council resolution.


The council, where Russia and China have vetoed two previous Syria resolutions, agreed on Thursday to a statement urging Damascus to meet Annan’s ceasefire deadline.


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Agencies
July 16,2020

Riyadh, Jul 16: Prince Abdul Aziz bin Saud bin Naif, minister of interior and chairman of the Hajj Supreme Committee, chaired a virtual meeting on Wednesday with the heads of  security agencies and officials in charge of this year’s Hajj season.

During the meeting, the minister and security officials discussed organizational issues related to Hajj, including preventive and precautionary steps related to fighting the coronavirus disease, procedures related to pilgrims commuting to the holy sites, and mechanisms to facilitate performing the Hajj rituals.

Prince Abdul Aziz confirmed abiding by the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to take all precautions to preserve the safety of the pilgrims, and facilitate their performance of their Hajj rituals, according to the highest health standards to contain the new coronavirus pandemic.

Saudi Arabia has decided to allow only a limited number of domestic pilgrims to perform Hajj this year in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Only those expatriates between the ages of 20 and 50 who are not suffering from any chronic diseases can apply for the pilgrimage.

Earlier, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said that requests from people of 160 nationalities in the Kingdom have been screened electronically to select who will perform Hajj this year.

Of the pilgrims who will receive approval, 70 percent will be non-Saudis residing in the Kingdom and the remaining 30 percent will be Saudi citizens.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior said that anyone found entering the sites of Hajj (Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat) without a permit from July 18 till the end of Dhu Al-Hijjah 12 will be issued with a fine of SR10,000 ($2,600).

The fine will be doubled if the offence is repeated. Security personnel will be posted on roads leading to the holy sites to ensure that anyone who breaks the law will be stopped and fined.

Around 2.5 million foreign and domestic pilgrims performed Hajj last year.

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Agencies
March 23,2020

Riyadh, Mar 23: King Salman on Sunday issued an order imposing a curfew across Saudi Arabia from Monday evening to control the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

A royal court statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said the curfew will start at 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. every day for 21 days from the evening of 28 Rajab 1441 in the Hijri calendar, equivalent to March 23, 2020 in the Gregorian calendar.

King Salman's order followed an announcement by the Health Ministry of 119 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, raising the total number in the Kingdom to 511.

The order enjoins citizens and residents alike to stay in their homes during the curfew hours for their own safety.

The statement said the Ministry of Interior will undertake the necessary measures to implement the curfew, and all civil and military authorities are ordered to cooperate fully.

Exclusions

A subsequent statement issued by the Ministry of Interior and carried by SPA said those excluded from the curfew are workers from the following vital industries and government services:

• Food sector (points of sale) such as catering and supermarkets And poultry and vegetable shops, meat, bakeries, food factories and laboratories;

• Health sector, such as pharmacies and the like, medical clinics (dispensaries), hospitals, laboratories, factories, factories and materials and medical devices;

• Media sector in its various means;

• Transportation sector, such as those transporting goods, parcels, customs clearance, warehouses, warehouses, logistics services, supply chains for the health sector, the food sector, and port operations;

• E-commerce activities such as those working in the electronic procurement applications for the excluded activities and those working in the delivery applications of the excluded activities;

• Accommodation services activities such as hotels and furnished apartments;

• Energy sector such as gas stations and emergency services for the electric company;

• Financial services and insurance sector, such as direct accidents (Najm), urgent health insurance services (approvals), and other insurance services;

• Telecom sector as Internet and communication network operators;

• Water sector, such as the water company emergency services and home drinking water delivery service (graying).

Additional exclusions

The Interior Ministry statement also said movement during the curfew time will be allowed for security, military and health cars, government regulatory services vehicles, and activity vehicles excluded in the vital industries and services mentioned above. 

Delivery services through smart device applications (express delivery services) during the curfew will be allowed for food and drug needs and other essential goods and services that are excluded and delivered to homes. Excluded activities can be known by calling the toll-free number in all regions of the Kingdom 999, except for the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region, which is called at 911.

Muezzins will be allowed to access mosques to lift the call to prayer at the time of the curfew.

Workers in diplomatic missions and international organizations and the like residing in the Diplomatic Quarter will be allowed to move during the curfew period to and from their business headquarters in the neighborhood.

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Agencies
July 23,2020

Abu Dhabi, Jul 23: Muslims in the United Arab Emirates have been asked to perform Eid Al-Adha prayers at home even as mosques will be allowed to operate at an increased capacity of 50 percent from Aug. 3.

Mosques in the UAE have been operating at 30 percent capacity after they reopened on July 1.

Announcing the move, Dr. Saif Al Dhaheri, the official spokesman for the National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, stated that after assessing the situation and coordinating with the concerned authorities, it was decided that Eid Al-Adha prayers would be conducted in homes and takbeers broadcast through visual and audio means.

He also announced that the Emirates Fatwa Council has recommended that donations and sacrifices should be to official charitable causes in the country only.

Al Dhaheri advised the public to donate during this time to the official charitable bodies in the country with sacrifices and donations, through smart applications concerned with sacrifices or through slaughterhouses outlined by the local authorities that guarantee the application of precautionary and preventive measures and provide remote services without the need to enter livestock markets or slaughterhouses.

Al Dhaheri stressed the need to avoid family visits and gatherings, and replace them using electronic means of communication or phone contact, as well as refraining from distributing Eid gifts and money to children and individuals during this occasion recommending to instead use of electronic alternatives.

Al Dhaheri pointed out that it is necessary to avoid visiting pregnant women, children and those with chronic diseases who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 and not to allow them to leave the home and avoid going out to public places to preserve their health and safety.

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